Michael Brissenden presents AM Monday to Friday from 8:00am on ABC Local Radio and 7:10am on Radio National. Join Elizabeth Jackson for the Saturday edition at 8am on Local Radio and 7am on Radio National.

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Monday 23 October 2000

AM is Australia's most informative morning current affairs. It covers the stories each morning that the other current affairs teams follow for the rest of the day. Below is the program summary with links to transcripts and audio (if available).

Yasser Arafat Says Israel Can Go To Hell

Yasser Arafat says Israel can go to hell after Prime Minister Ehud Barak announced that Israel would take time out from the Middle East process.

Fuel Prices Spark Anti-Coalition Sentiment in Rural Areas

Well, with petrol prices and diesel prices soaring past the $1-a-litre mark in most parts of country Australia, there are warnings from traditional coalition voters that the issue could cost the Prime Minister John Howard the next election.

Health Minister Wooldridge Defends Expense Claims

Another Minister in Labor's sites recently has been the Health Minister, Michael Wooldridge, over his expense claims. Labor Senator, Robert Ray, couldn't identify any rorts but he maintains that the Minister has made some dubious claims..

Charity Distances Itself from Government

Investigations Into Japanese Rape Tapes

There's been a new and a disturbing turn in the investigation into the disappearance of a British bar hostess in Tokyo. Hundreds of foreign women, many of them from Australia, work as hostesses in Japan in what has until now been thought to be a fairly safe environment.

China and the US Battle for North Korean Control

The United States is once again battling China for control of the North Korean Peninsula, this time diplomatically. China has been accused of trying to upstage a ground-breaking visit by the US Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, to North Korea by sending its Defence Minister to Pyongyang just a day before Doctor Albright arrived.

Calls To Scrap Legal Eagle Immunity

India's Match Fixing Report

India's cricket match-fixing saga appears to be coming to a head, and reports suggest that three Australians will be named along with four high profile Indian players. The drawn-out inquiry into gambling and corruption in cricket is finished, but it's far from clear if or when it will see the light of day in its entirety.